


Spark

by angryjellyfish



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Arson, CaBenson, F/F, Femslash, Fluff and Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, POV Olivia Benson, Romance, Slow Burn, enjoy, ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-02 14:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6570001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryjellyfish/pseuds/angryjellyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex's house has burnt down, and she ends up staying at Oliva's apartment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Calling

**Author's Note:**

> Some Disclaimers:  
> This is my first fic I've written that's over 500 words.  
> I haven't actually finished watching the show yet (There's 17 seasons!!). I apologize for any minor mischaracterizations I may make, please let me know if I made any major mistakes.
> 
> This is set anytime before Season 12. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Olivia winced as her feet hit the cold floor. She picked up her phone, answering the call as she pulled her pants out of the dresser. "Benson," she said groggily. "Liv? This is Alex." The sound of the blondes voice jerked Olivia awake. Alex was the last person she expected to hear at 3am.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Do you mind meeting me? I need to talk to you."  
"Alex, no one calls at 3 in the morning just to talk. Tell me what's going on."  
Olivia could hear a sigh at the other end of the line. "The short story is that my house burned down. I'm at the hospital an-"  
By this point Olivia was fully dressed and hurriedly looking for her keys. "Why didn't you start with that? I'll be there as soon as I can. Twenty minutes, tops."  
"Thank you Liv."  
"I'll see you soon."  


***

  
Exactly twenty-one minutes later, Olivia found Alex sitting on the edge of an ER hospital bed, worriedly twisting her leather watch around her wrist. Olivia couldn't help but wryly note that despite the tousled hair, the soot on her face, and the oversized hospital gown, the lawyer somehow remained the picture of perfection. She strode over and stood beside Alex. "Can you tell me what happened?,” she asked gently. Alex glared at her. "Olivia, don't treat me like a victim. Sit down." Olivia obliged, but just as she began to pull up the nearest stool, Alex doubled over in a fit of coughing. The detective jumped up and ran to the edge of the room, frantically calling for a nurse, until she felt Alex's pull on her arm. "Liv...I'm...fine" she wheezed.  
Olivia looked at her suspiciously as she slowly lowered herself back onto the stool beside the bed, Alex's hand clamped onto her arm the entire time. Once the coughing subsided the blonde explained it with a short "Smoke inhalation.” She then immediately began her story. "It happened about an hour ago. I had just gone to bed, when I woke up and my entire house was completely filled with smoke- I couldn't even see the door in front of me. I think the flames were coming from the kitchen. I’m pretty sure someone already called the fire department, because as I was trying to get out of the house, I heard the sirens and a fireman came in and carried me out." Alex paused for a coughing fit, and Olivia couldn't help but imagine the tall lawyer being carried, princess style, in the arms of a firefighter. She quickly smoothed over the slight smile on her face that the thought managed to induce.  
As her coughing subsided, Olivia turned all her attention back on Alex. "Okay, so what do you need? Do you want me to get you out of here, maybe take you to a hotel room?" Alex bit her lip and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Here's the thing Liv... I don’t think it was an accident. I think I saw a can of kerosene while I was waiting for the ambulance. The fire marshal is going to come out in the morning to check it, of course... but I don't really feel comfortable staying in a hotel. Is it okay if I sleep on your couch for a night or two?"  
Olivia raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You’re saying that it’s arson?” Alex nodded. “Of course you can stay in my apartment! Let’s get out of here, okay?” A look of relief spread over the tired woman’s face as she thanked Olivia. She got checked out and was wheeled out to Olivia’s waiting car in a pink fuzzy bathrobe. Olivia wondered for a split second where Alex’s pajamas had gone, but quickly forgot about it.  
The drive back to Olivia’s apartment was silent, but peaceful. Olivia couldn’t help but notice the blonde falling asleep and jerking herself awake every few seconds, forcing herself to remain alert. By the time they reached the detective’s front door, it was almost five, just a few hours before they had to face the new day- arson, and whatever else came with it. Olivia quickly grabbed extra bedding from her closet and spread them out on the couch, shooing away Alex when she tried to help.  
“I can’t thank you enough.” Alex repeated for at least the fourth time that night, as she sat down on the couch, still wrapped in the terrycloth robe. “Don’t worry about it, really,” Olivia said. “I’m just glad that you’re okay. I’ll wake you up when I leave for work, so you can call in?” The ADA made a face. “I really shouldn’t…” she protested, as she could feel the tiredness set in, infusing her entire body. Olivia gave her a stern look that the blonde only saw her use on suspects when they were about to say something stupid. “Your house just burnt down. The DA’s office can live without you for a day. And while I’m at it, let me at least get you pajamas.” She tossed a neatly folded black cami and a pair of red flannel pants at the lawyer, who deftly caught them and quickly disappeared into the bathroom to change. When she emerged, Olivia pretended not to notice the way the pants hung loosely off her slim body, revealing a small strip of Alex’s toned stomach. “Good night Liv, and thanks again,” Alex said for the fifth time, as she curled up on the small couch, coughing slightly once more. Only once she was sure that the blonde woman was asleep, Olivia decided that it wasn’t worth it to go back to bed now, and she began making coffee, letting the warm smell take over the apartment. She couldn't help but glance occasionally at Alex’s sleeping form, wishing that she could offer her somewhere better to sleep than her cramped couch.


	2. Burnt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end of the chapter

   Olivia walked into the squad room with a cup of coffee and a pounding headache. The commute to work seemed longer than normal, and she still felt exhausted despite the fact that she had already emptied the coffee pot at home. “Liv!” Her head jerked to the right as she saw Eliot walking towards her from the captain’s office. “Did you hear about Alex?” Olivia brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face as she answered. “About her house burning down? Yeah.” Eliot looked surprised. “Word travels fast around here. Do you know anything?” “Um… yeah, she called me last night. She said she’s fine and she’s going to find out more about what happened today.” Eliot looked puzzled, but his phone began to ring shrilly just as he opened his mouth to ask another question.  
  Olivia breathed a sigh of relief tinged with guilt as he turned away. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t simply admit that the lawyer was sleeping on her couch, but it was too late. Besides, these arrangements would only last for another day or two. Just then her phone started vibrating with a text from Alex. _Speak of the devil,_ she thought, surprised.  
**Alex: Can I borrow some of your clothes?  
** **Olivia: ur supposed to be asleep! yes, where r u going?  
** **Alex: Can’t sleep. I want to go meet with the fire marshall, maybe buy some clothes for myself.  
** **Olivia: ok, my spare key is under the microwave. good luck  
** **Alex: Thanks :)  
**   The uneventful day seemed to drag on. Olivia used the time to catch up on the mountain of bureaucratic paperwork that she had been ignoring for months, all the while struggling to stay awake until Cragen walked into the room. “I just got off the phone with the fire marshall,” he announced. “It turns out that Cabot’s house fire was an arson. They told me to turn it over to 1PP, but I said we could handle it ourselves. Olivia, Eliot, get down to the crime scene.” “Yes sir Captain,” Olivia replied, shrugging on her long tan coat. “But Cap, arson isn’t SVU. You’re sure we can take this?” Fin asked from across the room. “Detective, Cabot is one of our own. We take care of our own. Besides it doesn't seem like you're busy anyways,” he said, glancing pointedly at Fin’s half finished crossword puzzle. “You and Munch go interview Cabot. She’s staying at Benson’s place.” Olivia felt the heat rise in her cheeks, thankfully disguised by her tan, as Eliot raised a surprised eyebrow in her direction.  
  The crime scene was worse than Olivia could've expected. The brown townhouse, if the charred frame used to match the rest of the buildings serenely around it, was destroyed. All that remained of the home was the twisted frame and a few pieces of scattered furniture: a blackened table leg in the living room, a charred doorknob in the ravaged kitchen. The Fire Marshall walked through the house with them, pointing out the distinctive patterns of arson. “Did you find any cans, anything like that?” Olivia asked, nudging a piece of burnt material with her shoe. “No, the only suspicious thing was this ‘ere,” the elderly fireman said, holding up an evidence bag with a distinctive circular silver and gold keychain, with the initials M.I. sparkling. “We found it a few feet away.” Eliot took it and put it into his pocket, while Olivia finished going through the rest of the house, which revealed nothing more about the origins of the devastation.

***

  Olivia pushed open the door to the apartment with her shoulder, setting down the hot pizza she was carrying. Alex was sitting on the overstuffed chair adjacent to the door, rapidly writing. Olivia couldn't help but smile as she noticed the blonde was still wearing her clothes, a simple deep red v-neck and black slacks. “I brought home pizza,” Olivia said, hoping that would distract Alex. It worked. The lawyer set down her ridiculously large pile of papers and padded across the kitchen in her bare feet to help. “That smells delicious,” she said, sniffing the air appreciatively. “I figured you were hungry,” Olivia said as she set down the pizza and rummaged through her cabinets. “What do you want? I have bourbon, vodka, and white wine.” “I’ll take the vodka. You bought pineapple pizza? That’s my favorite!” “You mentioned it once,” Olivia said, distracted. She turned around to find Alex quickly hiding a small grin as she grabbed a slice and swung herself onto a barstool. Olivia sat down in the opposite chair, sighing. “It's been a long day.” As they ate the pizza, the conversation flowed freely. They had eaten together before, of course, but only quick meals between cases or drinks when they were both too tired to think, much less talk. Sitting in Olivia’s apartment felt different, more comfortable. _I could get used to this,_ Olivia thought, sipping her bourbon and watching Alex's hands move excitedly through the air as she talked.  
  In the middle of Olivia's story about a skunk she found on the beat, “I didn't even know they still had skunks in the city.” Alex interrupted her monologue by reaching over and brushing the pad of her thumb against Olivia's cheek, sending a tingle down her spine. “Pizza sauce,” Alex said as she wiped her hand on her napkin. “What were you saying?” Olivia blinked to clear her head as she tried to find where she left off.  
  Soon after, the leftover pizza was stashed underneath Olivia's mountain of oily takeout boxes. “ It’s easier than cooking!” she protested when Alex saw it and laughed at her. “I’ll make you my stuffed mushrooms sometimes, so I can teach you what real food tastes like,” she teased. As Alex retreated back to the chair to finish her paperwork, the flash of the gold and silver pen she pulled out of her hair reminded Olivia of the crime scene earlier. She filled Alex in on what she had saw. “What do you mean, there was no kerosene at the scene?” Alex asked, confused. “I could’ve sworn….” she trailed off, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses as she tried to remember. “There’s one more thing,” Olivia said, picking the pen up from the blonde’s hand. She quickly sketched the keychain on paper and showed it to Alex. “Are you sure that's it?” the lawyer asked, her face tense with worry. Olivia nodded. “Do you recognize it?” “Yes. I never thought I'd see him again.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon: Olivia texts like a 12 year old & Alex loves pineapple on pizza. 
> 
> What do you guys think so far? I have to say, I didn't plan to write Olivia as so unsure of herself, but I'm kind of enjoying it. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
